Analyze and Improve Processes
The payoff of Business Process Management comes when you start to actually improve a
flawed process. This is where you begin to see the light at the end of the tunnel—the
connection between your redesigned process and the real-world results: customer
satisfaction, increased productivity, and a better bottom line.
The following four diagrams start to bridge the gap between analysis and a better process.
An Affinity Diagram Created with SmartDraw
Affinity Diagram
An old-fashioned brainstorming session is still one of the best ways to generate a lot of
ideas about solutions to your problem. But how do you organize the results of the brain-dump?
An affinity diagram can help.
Affinity Diagrams are sometimes also referred to as the KJ method (named after their inventor:
Kawakita Jiro). While they were not originally intended to be a quality management tool,
they have become widely used to help quality teams group related ideas and make sense of
the raw results of a brainstorming session.
Armed with a list of brainstormed ideas, create a few large rectangles on your page. Start
grouping ideas that seem to belong together. Once every idea is placed somewhere in a
rectangle, create titles for each affinity group. Take a look at smaller groups and see
if they can be grouped with others. Should larger sets be broken down into smaller groups?
Using the Affinity Diagram you can link related causes, which can be helpful in constructing
a Cause and Effect Diagram later.
SmartDraw provides a number of Affinity Diagram templates you can simply click on and customize,
but you can also create your own in just a few seconds by dragging and dropping some boxes to
the page and typing your ideas right into them.
Cause-and-Effect Diagram
A Cause-and-Effect diagram is also known as an Ishikawa diagram, after its inventor,
or a Fishbone diagram, because of its shape. A Cause-and-Effect diagram is an effective
way to organize the possible causes and details leading to a problem.
To create a Cause-and-Effect diagram, write the problem or condition in a box on the right
hand side of your drawing. Draw a single horizontal line (the backbone of the fish) with
an arrow pointing to the problem.
A Cause and Effect Diagram Created with SmartDraw
Now attach diagonal directional arrows to the main line representing the main causes. Place
all possible details under the appropriate headings. SmartDraw provides a number of Fishbone
diagram templates, but depending on the unique nature of your process or condition, you may
want to create your own using SmartDraw's automatic Fishbone connector lines.
A cause-and-effect diagram may highlight one or more "master causes" that appear again and
again throughout different categories. Eliminating one of these master causes can provide
great leverage toward improving your process.
Check Sheet
Check sheets have countless uses, but one in particular relates to cause-and-effect diagrams
(see below). You can use a simple check sheet to track the frequency of different causes
that contribute to a problem. Does Cause A happen 100 times for every one of
Cause B? Does one cause tend to happen at a certain time of day? That's all valuable
information.
A Check Sheet Created with SmartDraw
In the left column of the check sheet you can list the mistakes or errors that are considered
causes to a particular problem. Create a timeline across the top that suits your situation
(hours, days, weeks, months, years, etc.). Place a check mark in the grid every time you
observe an error or mistake.
Check Sheets are a very simple and easy tool for spotting patterns in the causes of your
problems.
SmartDraw provides a check sheet template you can customize, or you can also create your own
using SmartDraw tables.
Force Field Analysis
A Force Field Analysis sounds like something out of science fiction, but it's really
just a simple chart that helps your team identify causes that aid or hinder a
specific goal or outcome. The chart is a basic table divided into two columns. List positive
(also called driving) forces on the left hand side and negative (also known as restraining)
forces on the right.
A Force Field Analysis SmartTemplate from SmartDraw
Prioritization Matrix
After a brainstorming session, a Prioritization Matrix can help you rank options and issues
based on specific criteria (ease of implementation, cost, most likely to increase profits,
etc.). Using this matrix, you can evaluate the importance of your criteria as well as your
options.
Prioritization Step 1: Criterion vs. Criterion Matrix
The Criterion vs. Criterion matrix allows you to compare the relative importance of criteria.
Is cost more important than ease of use? Is functionality more important than performance?
A Criterion vs. Criterion Prioritization Matrix Created with SmartDraw
To create a Criterion vs. Criterion Matrix, list the all the criteria under consideration
along both the horizontal and vertical axis of the table. Compare each criterion with the
others and rate the level of relative importance for each. If the two compared criteria are
equally important, place a 1 in the grid. If the criterion on the left is
more important than the one at the top, place a 5 in the grid.
If the criterion is much more important, place a 10 in the grid. If it is less important,
mark it with a 1/5 and if it is much less important, mark it with a 1/10. Add the scores for
each row to get the criteria score. Add these scores for a grand total. Divide each
criteria score by the grand total to get a relative decimal value (the criteria weighting
or the relative importance) for each criteria. The criteria with the highest criteria weighting
is the most important.
Prioritization Step 2: One Criterion vs. All Options
The Criterion vs. Options matrix allows you to evaluate each option based on a set of criteria.
Pick one criterion, such as cost, and then compare the relative cost of each option, using a
scoring system like that of the Criterion vs. Criterion Matrix (see below). Option 1 might be
equal in cost to (1), less expensive than (5), much less expensive than (10), more expensive
than (1/5), or much more expensive than (1/10) Option 2. Score each option accordingly and add
the scores for a row total. Then calculate the relative decimal value or option rating
by dividing each row total by the grand total. Repeat this process for each criterion.
A Criterion vs. Options Prioritization Matrix Created with SmartDraw
Prioritization Step 3: Summary Matrix
In the end, you can summarize your results in a single matrix by listing the option scores
for each option. To calculate the option score multiply the criteria weighting from
Step 1 (see below) with the option rating from Step 2 (see above). Add the option scores
for each option for a row total. Divide each row total by the grand total for a final relative
decimal value. Compare these values to decide which option to choose as a solution.
A Summary Prioritization Matrix Created with SmartDraw